n this 

Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Valdés and the second or maternal family

name is Arribas.

Víctor Valdés

Valdés with Spain in 2012

Personal information

Full name Víctor Valdés Arribas[1]

Date of birth 14 January 1982 (age 41)[1]

Place of birth L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain[2]

Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]

Position(s) Goalkeeper

Youth career

1992 Barcelona
1992–1995 Tenerife

1995–2000 Barcelona

Senior career*

Years Team Apps (Gls)

2000 Barcelona C 16 (0)

2000–2003 Barcelona B 71 (0)

2002–2014 Barcelona 387 (0)

2015–2016 Manchester United 2 (0)

2016 → Standard Liège (loan) 5 (0)

2016–2017 Middlesbrough 28 (0)

Total 509 (0)

International career

2000–2001 Spain U18 11 (0)

2001 Spain U19 3 (0)

2001 Spain U20 1 (0)

2002–2003 Spain U21 11 (0)

2010–2014 Spain 20 (0)

2001–2014 Catalonia 12 (0)

Managerial career

2018–2019 Moratalaz (youth)
 2019 Barcelona (youth)

2020–2021 Horta

show

Honours

*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Víctor Valdés Arribas (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbiktoɾ βalˈdes aˈriβas]; born 14 January 1982) is a

Spanish football coach and former professional player, who played as a goalkeeper. Valdés was
considered fiercely competitive and demanding, demonstrating great mental strength and
concentration to be alert during long spells of ball domination, and was superb at one-on-ones. [3]
He spent most of his professional career with Barcelona in La Liga, and is regarded as one of the
best goalkeepers in the club's history, having appeared in 535 official games for the club and won 21
major titles, notably six La Liga titles and three UEFA Champions League championships. Valdés
also won the Zamora Trophy a record five times. He currently holds the club records as goalkeeper
with most appearances in the league and in official competition, breaking Andoni Zubizarreta's
records during the 2011–12 season. After leaving Barcelona at the end of his contract in July 2014,
he joined Manchester United in January 2015. He played rarely at United, and after a brief loan
at Standard Liège, he moved on to Middlesbrough. After being released by Middlesbrough at the
end of the 2016–17 season, Valdés retired from professional football.
Valdés made his full international debut in 2010 and earned 20 international caps. He was part of the
Spain squads which won the 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012, and also finished second
at the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Early career[edit]
Born in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Valdés started his career with FC
Barcelona's youth team when he joined from Peña Cinco Copas on 1 July 1992. That September, he
moved with his family to Tenerife and had to leave the club, but returned three years later. After
returning, he made quick progress through the youth teams.

Club career[edit]
Barcelona[edit]
Valdés made his first team debut against Legia Warszawa in the third qualifying round of the UEFA
Champions League on 14 August 2002.[4] The early part of the 2002–03 season saw Valdés play
deputy to Argentine international Roberto Bonano, but the arrival of Radomir Antić as the new
manager in January 2003 saw regular first-team opportunities for Valdés.
In the 2003–04 season, he emerged as first-choice goalkeeper, and in the 2004–05 season, he
played in almost all of Barcelona's matches, helping Barcelona to their first league title in six years.
He also won the Zamora Trophy as the best goalkeeper in Spain that season.
In the 2005–06 season, Valdés helped Barça to the continental double in Europe. He played a big
part in Barça's 2005–06 UEFA Champions League winning campaign and in
the final against Arsenal, he denied Thierry Henry twice from point-blank range to help his side win
2–1 at the Stade de France. His efforts saw him singled out for praise from Barcelona manager at
that time Frank Rijkaard. The "Zamora" title, however, eluded him, as Valdés came third
after Santiago Cañizares and the winner, José Manuel Pinto.

Valdés playing for Barcelona during a match against Mallorca in 2007

On 17 June 2007, in the last match of La Liga, Valdés matched a goalkeeping record held by former
Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta by starting, and never being substituted, in all 38 matches
of the La Liga season.[5]
"For me, Valdes is the best in the world. When Barça need calm, he transmits that. He also has great capacity and handling."
Former Paraguay international goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert, February 2012[6]

Valdés set the Barcelona club record for not conceding a goal in European competition with a clean
sheet against Rangers on 7 November 2007, which saw him re-write the Barça record books after
not conceding a goal for 466 minutes.[7] Valdés was beaten twice by Lyon captain Juninho through a
45-yard free kick and a late penalty kick at the Stade de Gerland, ending his streak.[8] In the 2006–
07 and 2007–08 seasons, however, Barça failed to win a major trophy. On 3 February 2008, Valdés
captained Barcelona for the first time in a 1-0 league win at home against Osasuna. On 1 April 2008,
Valdés made his 250th appearance for Barcelona.
On 27 May 2009, Barcelona beat Manchester United 2–0 in the 2009 UEFA Champions League
Final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome to complete an unprecedented treble of La Liga, Champions
League, and Copa del Rey. In the match, Valdés made two saves from attempts by Cristiano
Ronaldo in both halves. In the first half, he saved a long-range free kick, and in the second half, he
saved the other from Ronaldo, coming from a tight angle following a low cross
from Bulgarian striker Dimitar Berbatov.
Valdés playing for Barcelona in 2012

On 16 May 2010, Valdés won his fourth league title as Barcelona clinched a second
successive Spanish league title with Pep Guardiola's side, ending the season with 99 points.[9]
On 29 August 2011, Valdés played his 410th match with Barcelona and equaled Andoni
Zubizarreta's record as Barcelona's goalkeeper with the most appearances. [10]
"For me, the three best goalkeepers in the world are Casillas, Buffon, and Valdes."
Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Bodo Illgner, February 2013[11]

In 2012, Valdés made a goalkeeping error against Real Madrid in the Supercopa de España that
culminated in Ángel Di María scoring a decisive goal and narrowing down Barcelona's two-goal
advantage. Real Madrid went on to win the Super Cup in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
On 1 May 2013, in a 3–0 Champions League semi-final loss to Bayern Munich at Camp Nou, Valdés
made his 100th appearance in the competition, becoming the 17th player to do so. [12] Later that
month, Valdés announced that he would not renew his Barcelona contract, which was due to expire
at the end of the 2013–14 season. He cited the pressure of representing the club and stated that he
had declared his wish to leave early enough for the club to find a replacement. [13]
On 26 March 2014, in a 3–0 victory against Celta Vigo, Valdés tore his anterior cruciate ligament in
the 22nd minute of the match and was substituted off, and was ruled out for the rest of the season,
ending his Barcelona career and ruling him out of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[14]

Manchester United[edit]
In January 2014, prior to the conclusion of his contract with Barcelona, Valdés signed a pre-contract
agreement to join Ligue 1 side Monaco at the end of the season; however, Valdés' injury led to
Monaco pulling out of the agreement.[15] On 23 October 2014, Manchester United offered Valdés the
chance to complete his rehabilitation from a knee injury and to work his way back to fitness with the
club.[16] He was offered a contract in January 2015,[17] and on 8 January signed an 18-month deal,
with the option of a further year, as backup for compatriot David de Gea.[18] As part of a
compensation package for reneging on their deal with Valdés, Monaco agreed to pay the difference
between the £150,000 weekly wage he stood to earn with them and the lower salary offered by
Manchester United.[19]
Valdés played his first match since his knee injury on 26 January, featuring for United's Under-21
team in a 2–1 home win over Liverpool. Before the game, he gave a team talk based on the
teachings of his former manager Guardiola.[20] He made his first-team debut on 17 May against
Arsenal at Old Trafford, replacing the injured De Gea for the final 16 minutes and conceding an own
goal by Tyler Blackett for a 1–1 draw.[21] A week later he made his first start for the team in their last
 game of the season away to Hull City, keeping a clean sheet in a goalless draw which relegated the
opponents.[22]
On 15 July 2015, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal announced that Valdés had been
placed on the transfer list after it was claimed he had refused to play in a reserve game. [23] The
following month, he was not given a squad number for the upcoming season. [24] A transfer to
Turkey's Beşiktaş fell through as personal terms could not be agreed. [25] Despite subsequently being
named in Manchester United's Premier League squad, [26] reports confirmed Valdés was only named
to conform to Premier League rules and not being offered a way back. [27][28][29]

Standard Liège[edit]

Wikinews has related news:

 Víctor Valdés to play in Belgian Pro League; Manchester United loans Valdés to Standard Liège until season end

On 23 January 2016, Manchester United announced that Valdés would be moving to Belgian
club Standard Liège on a six-month loan deal.[30] He made his debut a week later in a 2–0 win at OH
Leuven in the Belgian Pro League.[31] On 20 March, Valdés won the 2016 Belgian Cup Final,
beating Club Brugge 2–1.[32] His loan spell was cut short on 29 April after the club decided to allow
more youth players the opportunity to play in games at the end of the season. [33]

Middlesbrough[edit]
On 7 July 2016, Valdés signed a two-year deal on a free transfer at recently
promoted Middlesbrough, managed by compatriot Aitor Karanka.[34] On 13 August 2016, Valdés
made his debut in a 1–1 draw against Stoke City.[35] On 22 October 2016, Valdés kept his first clean
sheet of the season in a 0–0 draw against Arsenal.[36] The club entered the relegation zone in March
2017 after a 2–0 loss to Stoke City,[37] with Karanka sacked later that month.[38][39] Valdés, as well as
fellow goalkeeper Brad Guzan, left the club on 1 July 2017.[40][41] Although he had offers from several
clubs in Spain to prolong his career, Valdés retired from professional football in August 2017; [42] after
remaining without a club for the first half of the 2017–18 season, he later confirmed his official
retirement in January 2018.[43]